{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,27]],"date-time":"2026-06-27T05:45:45Z","timestamp":1782539145113,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781827200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006162","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o de Amparo \u00e0 Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["APQ 0674-2.02\/15"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["APQ 0674-2.02\/15"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006162","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Osteoporosis (OP) is a complex disease in which several immune-related genes have been identified as contributing to susceptibility and disease progression. Despite efforts to achieve functional validation, many of these genes, such as interferon-gamma (IFNG), remain the subject of unresolved mechanisms. The present study aimed to examine whether the IFNG -1616 (G&gt;A, rs2069705) polymorphism was associated with postmenopausal OP. A total of 251 OP patients and 115 healthy controls were genotyped to assess the association between the IFNG -1616 (G&gt;A, rs2069705) polymorphism and osteoporosis. To further investigate the biological role of IFN-\u03b3 in bone metabolism, human SaOs-2 osteosarcoma cells were treated with recombinant IFN-\u03b3 (2 and 100 U\/mL), and calcification and cell viability were evaluated using Alizarin Red staining and the MTT assay, respectively. We found that the IFNG rs2069705 G allele was associated with an increased risk of OP (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.03\u20132.05, p = 0.03). Furthermore, serum IFN-\u03b3 levels did not differ significantly between genotype groups. In SaOs-2 cells, IFN-\u03b3 (2 U\/mL) significantly increased viability (p = 0.017) and enhanced calcification in a dose-dependent manner. The IFNG rs2069705 G allele may confer susceptibility to postmenopausal OP. IFN-\u03b3 promotes osteoblast viability and mineralization at low concentrations, suggesting a potential anabolic role that warrants further investigation in human primary osteoblasts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27125548","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T14:37:42Z","timestamp":1781879862000},"page":"5548","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Bone-Protective Role for IFN-\u03b3? Evidence from Genetic Association and Osteoblast Functional Assays in Postmenopausal Osteoporosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0320-3674","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Camilla Albertina Dantas","family":"de Lima","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oceanography, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"},{"name":"Laboratory of Immunopathology Keizo Asami (LIKA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna Paula Oliveira","family":"Souza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Aparecida Barreto Lopes","family":"Seabra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1806-5219","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Werbson Lima","family":"Guaran\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Immunopathology Keizo Asami (LIKA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-2612-519X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bianca Maria Ribeiro de","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Immunopathology Keizo Asami (LIKA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8493-1168","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergio","family":"Crovella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Immunopathology Keizo Asami (LIKA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"},{"name":"Department of Genetics, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandre Domingues","family":"Barbosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rheumatology Division, Clinical Hospital of Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1660-7299","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jaqueline","family":"de Azev\u00eado Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Immunopathology Keizo Asami (LIKA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"},{"name":"Department of Genetics, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4641-7429","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paula","family":"Sandrin-Garcia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Immunopathology Keizo Asami (LIKA), Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"},{"name":"Department of Genetics, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1093\/bmb\/ldu042","article-title":"The Genetics of Osteoporosis","volume":"113","author":"Clark","year":"2015","journal-title":"Br. 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